Psychologically Driving Better Performance
Improving your sports performance requires physical and mental effort. A powerful mind translates into a powerful body but many people do not realise you need to work your mind just like a muscle to make it stronger.
No one is just born with the perfect mental attitude. You need to exercise and enforce positive mental images on a daily basis. Let’s look at 4 techniques for building your mental sports performance.
- The Power Of Visualisation
Visualisation refers to creating a picture in your mind which helps you understand or cope with a specific situation. Positive visualisation is the lynchpin of any rewarding activity. As an example positive visualisation can help you deal with extreme physical strain either by mentally focussing on the results of this strain or by taking your mind off the strain by picturing your end goal, i.e. having more fitness, being in better physical shape or achieving a sporting goal.
This is definitely not an easy task at first, but if you consciously focus your mind into a positive path of thought, you will eventually become well trained to be in full control of your mental state at any given point.
- Putting Your Will Into Words
Another important aspect to visualisation is actually vocalising your goals. This helps you to remain focused and to engrain positive thought processes in your mind. If you repeat positive words out loud you give them more and more power each time.
These words of power can be chanting a mantra during meditation or exercise to something as simple as simply looking into the mirror each morning and psyching yourself up with words of encouragement.
Just as with visualisation, at first this may seem a pointless activity, but as you repeat our words each morning and your mind established a relationship between these words and your actions, the words will become more and more powerful.
- Focussing On The Here And Now
It can be difficult when driving yourself to always remain focused on the present. We often compare where we want to be with were we are now and can become disheartened. You can often get caught up in how much work you may have ahead and the anxiety that results from these thought patterns eventually leads you to give up or give in.
By focussing your mind on a small task in the present, you can make your way to your goals in daily steps. Just focus on the 3 sets of pushups you need to do in the next ten minutes, rather than thinking of the sit-ups you dread tomorrow morning
- Celebrate Your Effort
Once you have obtained your goals, no matter how small they may seem, always remember to take time to celebrate yourself. Be thankful to yourself for the hard work you put in and remember that you should value yourself.
Perhaps you can celebrate with friends or family or by having some fun with Australian open tennis betting, whichever way you choose to celebrate your accomplishments, go for it!